Week of 10/30/17

Thank you all for your donations for our cookie cell project. It was a great success. This project is such a fun, hands-on way to cement what they learned about cells.

On Tuesday, we have Literacy Day where students can dress like their favorite literary character. Costumes needed to be approved by me in order to dress up. We will be reading to the class, doing some "Cricket in Times Square" coloring pages and reading with flashlights in the dark. Your child can bring in a pillow/blanket/ stuffed animal and a flashlight to have some cozy lights-out reading time. We will be eating popcorn, cookies and drinking milk. If you would like to contribute to our class, you can sign up with the following link:

https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/2097720/false#/invitation

Our week: 

Math-
Monday:Solve simple word problems that involve multiplication or division.
Tuesday:REVIEW
Wednesday: Multiplication Quiz
Thursday:Solve division word problems using number bonds and pictures

Count by 2’s:  Solve problems in the form 2 x = by counting by 2s

Friday:Multiplication Table of 2-build the multiplication table for 2.

Compute unknown facts from known facts

Solve simple word problems
ELA-
Idiom: Back to the drawing board. 
Poem: Something Told the Wild Geese- Reciting this Friday, November 3rd
Comprehension Strategy: Determine Important Information
Literature: The Cricket in Times Square Chapters 7-9
Grammar: Parsing sentences including Article Adjectives


History-
Students will recognize some of China’s important inventions

Students will understand how silk is made.

Students will understand the cultural, economic, and geographic importance of silk

Science-
Part 2 of the Simple Machine Project went out last week. It is due November 15th. 

Monday: Students will understand the contributions that Anton van Leeuwenhoek made to the field of microbiology.
Thursday: Open-note cell quiz
Friday: Begin informational unit on body systems
Students will know that the skeleton system is one of the systems in the body. 

Week of 10/23

Thank you for attending Parent-Teacher Conferences. I am greatly looking forward to a growing quarter two. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. I so appreciate your feedback. 

Send in your Box Tops before Thursday! Our first Box Tops for Education Drive for 2017-2018 starts now! By clipping Box Tops on participating products and turning them into the school, you can help earn money for Archway Lincoln. Collection will begin now and all Box Tops must be turned in to your child’s classroom by Thursday, October 26^th. The class in each grade with the most Box Tops collected will earn a special treat!   

Reading Homework Update: 

-A Reading (Leveled) Comprehension will be coming home this week. It will be sent home on Monday and due Thursday. 

-Continuing Fluency (sent home Monday and due Thursday as well)

Literary Character Day:
Dress as your favorite Literary Character Day will be Tuesday, October 31st. More details on this even coming soon.
Permission slips (lime green half sheets) went home Wednesday, October 18th. Please note: Teacher approval is required if your child wishes to dress up.

Parent Mindset Resources:  
If you wish to read the book Mindset by Carol Dweck
https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/ild/symonette.makeassessmentwork.dweck_.pdf 

Science: THE HUMAN BODY-CELLS
Simple Machine Project PART 1 DUE Wednesday, October 25: Brainstorm Map of Ideas for their project. 
-Students will identify and label the parts of an animal cell:  
--> cell membrane, nucleus, nuclear membrane, cytoplasm, mitochondria, vacuoles --Students will identify and label parts of a plant cell: 
--> cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, nuclear membrane, cytoplasm, mitochondria, vacuoles, chloroplasts 

-Students will be able to explain how a plant cell differs from an animal cell. 
-Students will be able to explain how cell tissue, organs, and organ systems work together in the body 
-Thursday Students will build a model of a cell (Using a Sugar Cookie and Candy materials to represent parts) 
-Next Thursday, November 2nd there will be an open note quiz 

History: ANCIENT CHINA 

Math: UNIT 4
-Use rectangular arrays to illustrate multiplication
-Use objects or drawings to solve simple word problems that involve multiplication 
-Divide by sharing equally into a given number of groups. Write division equations. Solve simple word problems that involve sharing. 
-Divide by grouping by a specified number to find the number of groups. Solve simple word problems that involve grouping. 
-Use rectangular arrays to relate division to multiplication. Write division and multiplication equations for a given set of equal groups 

ELA: 
Poem: Went home last Thursday. "Something Told the Wild Geese" to be presented on Nov. 3 
Literature: Cricket in Times Square chapters 3-6 (Read aloud, so it is not required for the students to bring in this book) Vocabulary and Comprehension  
Reading Skill Focus: (Last week was visualization) This week's reading focus is Organization 
Writing: Determining Main Idea and Details. Focus- paragraph parts-topic sentence 
Grammar: Parsing Sentences (Introduce Adjective Articles) 
Idioms: Back to the Drawing Board





 

Simple Machines Project Letter

Dear Parents,

            We have been studying six simple machines in science: the inclined plane, the wedge, the wheel and axle (including gears), the lever, the pulley, and the screw.

What:             Your student is going to build an invention that includes at least two simple machines. The invention can make a chore easier, faster or better or be an arcade game. Be creative and use your imagination! The project should be small enough to fit on your student’s desk. They will present their invention to the class.

When:                         There will be 3 Check-In Assignments to help your student prepare:

1.     DUE Wednesday, October 25: Brainstorm Map of Ideas for their project.

2.     DUE Wednesday, November 15: Research Page featuring 3 different Simple Machines.

3.     DUE Wednesday, December 6: Simple Machines Sentences. Have your child fill out the sentences in their own writing. This is a rough draft.  

DUE January 8th: The final physical project and a written paragraph combining the sentences from Check-In Assignment #3 and making any corrections.

How:            Your student may use any materials that they wish to build their project, such as wood, cardboard, glue, string, plastic bottles, etc. If they use Legos, K’nex, etc., they must make something that is their own creation not something from a kit. Use materials you have at home. Please do not go out and spend a lot of money on this.

Grade:                        The project will be graded in four parts: (See attached checklist)

1.     The Check-In assignments

2.     The project itself (neatness, follows the assignment, etc)

3.     The written report (clear, neat, few mistakes)

4.     The class presentation (Explain what they did in a clear way with a loud voice and identify the simple machines used. They will need to know this information by heart, not read it from their report because we will have that.)

Parents may help with things like sawing and drilling, but this should be THEIR idea and most of the WORK should be the student. Have fun with this! If you have any questions, be sure to ask us.

Sincerely,

The Second Grade Team

Simple Machines Project Checklist

Name: ________________________________

Check-In Assignments

_______/10         Brainstorm Map

_______/10         Research Page

_______/10         Simple Machines Sentences

Project (50 Points)

_______/10         Neat

_______/20         Includes at least 2 simple machines

_______/10         Follows directions

_______/10         Creativity

Written Report (30 points)

_______/10         Complete

_______/5         Neat

_______/5         Easy to understand

_______/5         Capital letters, punctuation, and spelling

_______/5         Follows directions

Oral Report (20 points)

_______/15         Able to explain project

_______/5         Audible

_______/130         Total

 

Week of 10/2

Parent Teacher Conferences are October 16th-18th 

 2A Homeroom Parents please sign up here: 
http://signup.com/go/EKEeDLY

 If there is not a time that will work for you, please let me know-I am happy to accommodate schedules. Conferences are for parents only.

 Thank you so much for your continued partnership! 

Grades
I know many of you are new to Great Hearts, so I wanted to take a minute to outline a few things about the grading system, specifically for 2nd grade. 
  
In Kinder-2nd grade we do not assign numeric or alphabetic grades. Instead, you will see a scale like the one below:

1  Below Grade Level Expectations

2  Inconsistently shows Grade Level Expectations

3  Meets Grade Level Expectations    

4  Exceeds Grade Level Expectations

You will then see a long list of various learning standards that will be assigned one of these numbers.  
Quick note:
Some of our children have a natural tendency to be dissatisfied with a 3 "meeting grade level expectations" because it is not considered the best. Please help them understand that their mastery, at any level and any pace, is one to be celebrated. Help them find the positive and excitement in learning- if their natural bent is toward perfectionism. 

  

Your child has been leveled for reading. You will receive your child's level within their grade checklist. Please see below for defined reading stages (EE, UE, EF, F) and what books are available at your child's level for a-z reading (also will be noted for you at conferences).

A-Z Levels (Reading) 

Titles and Author / Books available at each level: 
http://www.archwaychandler.org/academics/reading-stages

Reading Stages Defined (Guided Reading Level)

Early Emergent (EE):
 Reader understands concepts of print and basic punctuation, can identify and name letters, is able to match sounds with letters, recognizes some high frequency words, uses illustrations for meaning and uses finger or marker to point to text.

Upper Emergent (UE):
Reader sub-vocalizes or often reads aloud, reads word by word pausing at unfamiliar words, recognizes many words immediately, is beginning to use a few decoding strategies to problem solve new words and uses one or more strategies to gain meaning.

Early Fluent (EF):
Reader is beginning to read silently with independence, uses a variety of strategies to gain meaning, is able to recognize many familiar words, uses story and text structure with guidance to establish meaning and is beginning to read a variety of materials for different purposes.

Fluent (F):
Reads silently with independence and aloud with expression and fluency, selects a variety of texts and more difficult materials, uses a variety of strategies to read unfamiliar words, comprehends and self-corrects to gain meaning, summarizes and makes meaningful predictions and self-selects and enjoys books of interest and variety.

10/2 - 10/6

Upcoming dates to note: 

• Quarter 1 Parent-Teacher Conferences- Oct. 16-18

Please see Monday's Fall Conference blog post for the day/time slot sign up link and report card (checklist) clarification guide 

• SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR! 
  http://www.scholastic.com/bf/archwayclassicalacadlincoln

• Picture Retake- Friday (Please see previous post for information link)  
• SPELLING BEE 

What can you do to prepare?We encourage every student to prepare for participation in the Classroom Spelling Bee. 

Visit http://spellingbee.com/parents-and-students to find additional materials and helpful strategies.

Once students have mastered the 100 grade-specific words provided, move on to grade-level lists for 1^st-8^th grade.       

Lists are on the home page of www.archwaylincoln.org in the side bar, under Spelling Bee Study Guide.

Get a head start preparing for the Great Hearts District Bee and Phoenix Regional Bees through Merriam-Webster’s 
        Spell It at http://spellit.com.   

A glance at our coming week...



(Please email me if your child is going to miss class.)
  
Math: Measurement Unit
Measuring length in meters, centimeters, yards, feet, curved lines. 
Mini assessment Friday 


Science: Simple Machine Unit 
Tuesday- Simple Machine Assessment (Mon. Review)
Wednesday we introduce the Simple Machine Project Assignment. Be on the look out for directions and more information regarding this project Wednesday 

History: India Unit 
Students will understand who King Asoka was and what impact he had on the spread of Buddhism in Asia 
Students will compare and contrast what they know about Buddhism and Hinduism   
Thursday a study guide will be sent home 
Friday- India Unit Assessment  

Literature: The Boxcar Children (Celebration Friday see bottom of post for information about this activity)
Idiom of the week: Keep your fingers crossed 
Grammar: Classifying a sentence for the subject noun, verb, adverb, and adjective 
Writing: Paragraph overview  


At home focus skill
Narration / Summarize / Retell / Essential Details:

Narration is a skill to be learned through practice. In narration, the student simply tells back a story in his/her own words. There are two common difficulties in learning to narrate.
1. The student gives every detail of the story, making the narration too long to write down :(
2. The student doesn't know how to start or what to say :(

To help your student summarize, ask knowledge based questions/ summary questions after a text or story is read by your student. If he or she answers with a phrase or single word, repeat the answer back to him/her in a complete sentence. Then ask him/her to repeat the sentence back to you.
This begins to train your student to formulate grammatical sentences.

Then ask the student, "what is one thing you remember about the story?" Help him/her phrase their answer as a complete sentence. Write the sentence down as he/she watches. Point out the capitalization/punctuation as you write.

If the student uses verbal "fillers" such as "uh," "like", or "you know," encourage her/him to stop and think in silence until he/she is ready to speak the sentence. When these "fillers" slip back into the narration, simply repeat what the student has said, omitting the useless word; then have them repeat after you.

There is no rush! This is a skill to be learned. You are training your student in thinking skills, so that he /she can grasp and retain more knowledge in their later stages of education. Narration exercises train the mind to grasp what is central - an essential skill for note taking later on.

BOOK BUZZ
The Boxcar Children
Students celebrate the completion of their book by participating in a class Socratic discussion called a Book Buzz or Coffee Talk. The students enjoy book-themed food. The celebration is a Socratic discussion - a question is asked and the students discuss it without raising hands. Students often invite their more timid peers into the conversation by asking "What do you think ____?" if they notice a child has not spoken. Children are also practicing their conversation skills - you will hear them using phrases like, "Can you tell me more about your thought?" and "I respectfully disagree because..." etc. 
I facilitate the discussion and manage their off-track conversations. Students are not permitted to have side conversations or interrupt one another. All words are spoken to the circle as a whole. Students thank each other for their question and everyone has a chance to share. 
It is a beautiful celebration of the book's completion. The students greatly look forward to these celebrations and I so appreciate your support and help with the supplies! 

If you would like to sign up to bring supplies or volunteer sign up here:

http://signup.com/go/aeVrBFV